Getting rid of the pets are out of the question. I cannot afford to buy a house at this time.

Any Advice?

erykah1310

November 20th, 2006, 01:41 PM

Well for me, I wouldnt offer the info up that I had pets until they asked. :confused: Usually when the ad doesnt mention anything about pets, you can get in.

Its kinda risky though, not telling everything. It has always worked for me, but I was so nervous every time....

Good luck on your hunt for a house. It is a hard thing to find, a landloard that accepts pets. My current one, I didnt tell him I had dogs and cats and he didnt ask, when he came by to see us shortly after we moved in he was THRILLED that we had dogs, and sat on the floor with my Rottie and played with her instead of getting to know us.:shrug: I lucked out.

mummummum

November 20th, 2006, 01:49 PM

Try the "craigslist" in your city. You can key in the amount you want to spend, the size of the home/ apartment and the type of pet you have and want accepted.

happycats

November 20th, 2006, 01:56 PM

I know some people who have gotten rental places by offering a damage deposit.
Say maybe something like this: I know the ad says "no pets" but I am so confident that my pets are completely behaved that I will give you $(x amount) for a deposit.

~michelle~

November 20th, 2006, 02:01 PM

where do you live. if you live on ontario then a landlord cannot turn you down due to pets. do your pets have pet insurance? I know tat vetinsurance gives up to $5000 damage to the landlord incase of damages, and they have a letter that goes to your landlord.
I did not admit to owning pets, i said none on my application. They cannot evict you in ontario for having pets. my brother and I have both done it before because either one of us could find a place that says pets allowed.... and they sometimes find "other" reasons to not allow you to rent. my brother and I had eachother look after our pets for a few days then moved them in. when my brothers landlord asked he told him that i gave him a "housewarming present" of a cat to keep him company (it would be harder now to do that because i have multiple pets) I know its not good to lie, but we've done what we've had to do. to get by and no way in hell was i giving up my pets.
I have had a landlord threaten to evict me because i have a cat(when i only had a cat) but he didnt do anything about it.... it was also helpful that i do know the law, and i do have a friend whos a lawyer willing to make phone calls:rolleyes:

from http://www.ontariotenants.ca/law/law.phtml#Q6

Q6: The landlord says I must either move out or get rid of my pet; Do I?

A6: Only if the pet is dangerous, causes allergic reactions or causes problems for other tenants or the landlord, must you get rid of your pet or consider moving elsewhere.

Even if you signed a lease with a "no pets" clause, if the pet is not a problem for anybody they can not enforce it; such clauses are invalid under the law.

You do not have to move or get rid of the pet unless the Tribunal issues a written order to do so.

from http://www.orht.gov.on.ca/userfiles/HTML/nts_3_7968_1.html

Pets

A landlord may evict a tenant for keeping an animal if it:

* caused undue damage,
* caused a serious allergic reaction in another person or the landlord,
* interfered with the normal enjoyment of the property by another tenant or the landlord, for example, causing undue noise,
* acted aggressively to others – thus affecting their safety, or
* is a species or breed of animal that is inherently dangerous

OntarioGreys

November 20th, 2006, 09:33 PM

in the US try here http://www.peoplewithpets.com/

For Toronto area try the advanced search here http://therenter.ca/phpcode/web/index.php

Mocha's mum

November 21st, 2006, 06:18 PM

A lot of places in Edmonton advertise "no pets", but I used to bring Mocha with me to look for places. Most landlords welcomed Mocha, because he is small and relatively non-dangerous looking. I think that some landlords put that down so that some crazy person doesn't move in with his eight hundred poorly trained dogs! LOL.

Most places I went to in the past allowed pets after you paid a "pet deposit". Usually a few hundred dollars.

springermom0406

November 22nd, 2006, 09:12 AM

We had the same problem when we moved with 3 cats and 1 dog at the time. Thankfully found something.

I had a friend with a pit bull that couldn't get anyone to rent to her. She finally showed them the dogs Canine Good Citizen paperwork, wrote a letter about how the dog is crate trained (so won't destroy anything), doesn't bark in the house much, loves children, takes agility classes and gave reference to that, etc. And they let her have the apartment. You may want to try somethingl ike that?

Good luck.

pitgrrl

November 22nd, 2006, 11:26 AM

The things that I've found helpful when renting with animals (two pitbull crosses no less) are as follows:

-get a couple of reference letters, from your vet or trainer and a past landlord for example, stating how well cared for and/or trained your animals are.

-you didn't say if you have dogs or cats, but if it's a dog and it's completed any training, obtained a CGN/CGC, been titled in anything, make a pet resume. List any accomplishments, past places you've rented, how your dog is contained when you're not home, anything that sounds good and shows how you're not the average negligent pet owner.

-have a really cute picture to show the landlord. (I find taking a picture from above, making the animal look like a cute bobble head, preferably next to some flowers or being hugged by small children works well).

mummummum

November 22nd, 2006, 12:53 PM

where do you live. if you live on ontario then a landlord cannot turn you down due to pets....

Sorry to be the contrarian policy-wonk here but I don't want to see misinformation out there. A landlord in Ontario is within their rights to refuse to rent to you, an applicant for their housing, because you have a pet (of any kind). Setting designated Social Housing landlords aside, a rental accommodation landlord may discriminate against you for any reason other than that which is contained in the Human Rights code or would violate your constitutional rights under the Charter. Protections afforded under the Tenant Protection Act refer to those people with existing tenancies not applicants or candidates for tenancy. :thumbs up

lezzpezz

November 22nd, 2006, 02:57 PM

Sorry to be the contrarian policy-wonk here but I don't want to see misinformation out there. A landlord in Ontario is within their rights to refuse to rent to you, an applicant for their housing, because you have a pet (of any kind). Setting designated Social Housing landlords aside, a rental accommodation landlord may discriminate against you for any reason other than that which is contained in the Human Rights code or would violate your constitutional rights under the Charter. Protections afforded under the Tenant Protection Act refer to those people with existing tenancies not applicants or candidates for tenancy. :thumbs up

According to the information I researched on this same topic, (both sources cited by Michelle), I am lead to believe that an landlord may NOT refuse to rent on the grounds of pet ownership. This bit of the law was overturned in 1997.

It is my understanding that a landlord cannot under any circumstance, refuse to rent to a person because they own a pet, however if the animal is causing disruption after moving into an apartment, (be it allergies, damage etc.), the landlord must take the case before the rental tribunal. Most cases don't get that far.

mummummum

November 24th, 2006, 10:33 PM

Truly, I'm not trying to be difficult lezzpezz but the "Fluffy decision" refers to existing tenancies. If you can find the section in the TPA that describes grounds upon which LL's can and cannot decide on successful applicants for tenancy and the legal remedy for unsuccessful applicants, I would be interested in seeing it. And please know, I'm not doubting that you've done a ton of research ~ too many people are too willing to trust that others in a position of power will treat them fairly and reasonably and don't bother to learn their rights. I think what you are doing is great.:highfive: